The effect of hearing impaired child on the family in Assiut University Hospital

Abstract

The birth of a child is typically accompanied by feeling ofjoy, excitement, and anticipation about the future. In most families the birth also brings new challenges and responsibilities. The addition- of a child with a disabilities to a family may bring a number of even greater challenges, demands, and sources of anxiety. The aim of this discriptive analytic study was to identify the effect of hearing impaired child on his family. A questionnaire sheet was designed by the research investigator to collect data from convenience sample was composed of 200 family (father or mother or both), having male or female children with • bilateral sensorineural hearing loss aged up to six years, coming to the Audiology Unit seeking for care for their children, from the first of January to the end of July 2001. The main finding of the current study was, the presence of hearing impaired child in a family brings emotional, financial, social, and physical strains to his family. The emotional strains were more prevalent among the families (98%), followed by financial strains (76.5%) while social and physical strains constituted 59% and 51.5% respectively. The study recommended that, offering opportunity to the parents ofthe hearing impaired children to meet with other parents of children like their own, within these parent groups, parents learn that their problems are not unique. They have a chance to share experiences, learn how others have coped, and work with others to find solution to common problems.